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A very bitter Lent: A report from Syria

The Maronite Archbishop of Damascus reflects on the aftermath of six years of war

Editor’s note: The following homily written by Archbishop Samir Nassar, Maronite Archbishop of Damascus, was translated by Sarah Sierra and Sr. Margaret Kerry, fsp:

Xavier Leoty/AFPMaronite bishop of Damas Samir Nassar (C) places his hands on the head of newly elevated Bishop Georges Colomb (L) during his episcopal ordination next to the Archbishop of Paris Mgr Andre Armand Vingt-Trois (R) on May 5, 2016 at the Parc des expositions in La Rochelle, western France.

1) An Apocalyptic Scene

In six years of war the face of Syria has changed quite a lot.

It is a huge disaster zone of debris, carbonized buildings, burned down houses, ghost neighborhoods and towns destroyed to the ground. More than twelve million Syrians, 50 percent of the population, are lacking a roof.

They form the largest mass of refugees since the Second World War. Several million have left the country in search of more merciful skies. Many are waiting for mercy in camps of misery, some have drowned attempting to leave, and others are in line at embassies, nomads in search of a welcoming land. How can they leave this Syria of torments?

2) A Shattered Family

The family, which fortifies Church and Nation and has saved the country in the past, is heavily shaken. Seldom is a complete family found. Violence has scattered this basic cell of society. Some family members are in graves, others in exile, in prison or on the battlefield. This painful situation is the cause of depression and anxiety and forces those few left without support to beg.

Young fiancés, separated by this exodus, the immigration of their partner or military mobilization, cannot marry. Crisis surrounds them. A hope for their future has crumbled.

How is it possible to stay on course without a family or with a broken family?

3) A Sacrificed Childhood

The children are the most fragile. They have paid a great price for this merciless violence. According to UNESCO, more than three million Syrian children haven’t attended school because they have to prioritize their physical well-being. Those that have been to school witness the demise of the quality of teaching due to fewer faculty and students in remaining schools. Academic failure is imposed by these overwhelming circumstances.

The centers of psychological support cannot overcome the number and depth of wounds and psychic blocks. How do we restore the spirit of these children destroyed by violence and barbaric scenes?

4) Threatened Parishes

Parishes have seen the number of parishioners diminish and pastoral activities reduced considerably. The priests are deprived of the means to provide human and spiritual support. The Church of Damascus has witnessed the departure of one third of their clergy (27 priests). This is a hard blow weakening the place and role of the Christian minority already in decline.

The priests struggling to remain without any reassurances consider negotiating their eventual departure. They only wait for humanitarian agencies to arrive to assist broken families.

How do we fix this alarming hemorrhage?

Can we imagine a Church without priests?

5) Between Pain and Freedom

The Syrian people are no longer looking for liberty. Their daily combat is finding bread, water, gas and fuel which are harder and harder to find. Electrical shortages have become more frequent and lengthy. These darken nights and reduce any social life.

The search for lost brothers, parents and friends is a very discreet, anxious and hopeful undertaking.

Finding a little room for shelter in a country in ruins has become an impossible dream for families and even more for young fiancés.

Fighting for liberty or searching for bread, what course should one take?

This little Syrian population lives this reality with pain visible in silent looks and streams of tears.

This bitter Lent of 2017 offers us time in the desert to take a good look at our commitment to the Church in the midst of faithful in distress, to lead the way towards Christ Resurrected. Christ, Light of the world, who knows the hearts of men and women, says: “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28